Look out Spain

[Keith Tindell]

Well, if nothing else shows how united we are in Europe, yet another stone in UKIP`s sling KT

[Keith at Tregenna]

As said visiting anyway on route for Cougar 13. Convenient though ?

K.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Gibraltar row: Royal Navy deployed amid tensions:

THOUSANDS of Royal Navy personnel have set sail for a training deployment in the Mediterranean amid diplomatic tensions between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar.

The helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious left Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, and will join the navy flagship HMS Bulwark, which has sailed from Devonport for the Cougar ‘13 operation.

Also sailing tomorrow will be HMS Westminster, a type 23 frigate, which will visit Gibraltar en route.

Other UK ships taking part are another type 23 frigate, HMS Montrose, and six Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships.

The vessels will be taking part in what defence officials stressed was a long-scheduled deployment in the Mediterranean and the Gulf.

LINK: Gibraltar row: Royal Navy deployed amid tensions - UK - The Scotsman

K.

[Ian Walker]

Keith, re post 15 as I have said in a previous post Mariano Rajoy and his party are embroiled in a major corruption scandal, they have been in recession for 5 years and there has not been a problem for Gib until the scandal erupted.

[john sutton]

Camerons not stupid.
He,s called the force "Cougar".This will get the old birds in Marbella excited at the thought of all those young Matlows wandering round the Rock
john sutton

[Keith at Tregenna]

Definitely nothing provoked by the Gibraltarians. Forget all this palaver about a few concrete blocks that have been dumped in the sea.

“That isn’t why the Spanish are going back to the Franco-style blockade. This isn’t a row about fish. I am afraid that this is a blatant diversionary tactic by Madrid, and though it would be ludicrous to compare the Rajoy government with the tyranny of General Galtieri and his invasion of the Falklands, the gambit is more or less the same.”

Cougar ‘13 is a long-planned deployment involving the four Royal Navy warships, the lead commando group from 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines and elements of naval air squadrons.

This is the third time the exercise has taken place with its aim to demonstrate the ability to operate a highly effective maritime force anywhere in the world to protect UK interests.

K.

[robpage]

Gibraltar has a special relationship with the European Community, which is different from any other colony of a member state. Under the Treaty of Rome 1973 and the UK Act of Accession of the same year, Gibraltar was classified as a dependent territory of the United Kingdom. Although Gibraltar has its own Parliament which is responsible for passing legislation, including European Community Directives, the UK Government is responsible for Gibraltar's foreign affairs, including their relationships within the European Union.I Believe that charging tourists , Note , NOT Spanish workers who work in Gibraltar 50 Euros each to cross .

But Let us Remember Peter Hain , Here is a piece from last Fridays DAily Telegraph where Hain comments about a 2002 proposal from him and Tony

The proposal was dropped before it was even published because of opposition from hardliners in the then Spanish government, who wanted only full sovereignty. In a separate referendum organised that year by Gibraltar’s government - which feared Mr Blair was secretly planning to give the territory away - 98 per cent of people voted against sharing sovereignty with Spain.On Tuesday, though, Mr Hain told The Telegraph that had the detail of plan actually been seen by Gibraltarians, many might have been in favour.
“It would have given them everything they wanted, retaining British citizenship and everything about their way of life, down to having a pint of beer in the pub,” he said.“The Spanish would have co-sovereignty, but the Gibraltarians would have got more devolution of power. There really were no negatives at all.”Mr Hain’s comments came as Gibraltar threatened Madrid with legal action over its practice of creating long delays at the Spanish border for those coming and going from the territory. Thousands have been stuck in queues in hot summer weather for up to seven hours at a time, ostensibly so that the Spanish authorities can conduct anti-smuggling checks.Related Articles

Jose Garcia, Gibraltar’s deputy first minister, described the practice as “totally inhumane” and a potential violation of European Union citizens rights.“We are collecting individual complaints in case we need to take action on the basis that an individual’s rights have been infringed,” he told The Guardian.

The European Commission, meanwhile, said it would send a “technical mission” to the border in coming months to examine whether Spanish officials were acting unreasonably. Commission officials are also studying the legality of the Spanish government’s threat last Sunday to impose a 50 euro border crossing fee.Frederic Vincent, a spokesman for the commission, said that while Spain was entitled to impose controls on the border as Gibraltar was not part of the Schengen Agreement, such measures had to be “proportionate”.
The latest spat arose out of Spanish objections to Gibraltar starting work on a reef to protect marine life, which Madrid claims will deprive Spanish fishermen of their livelihoods.The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said he is “seriously concerned” about the Spanish government’s actions, which some claim are to detract from domestic political problems.There is little indication that Mr Hain’s plan would be any more acceptable to the current Spanish government, which is ruled by the same right-wing People’s Party that rejected the 2002 deal. But the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said that as with the peace process in Ulster, there had to be “give and take” on both sides.He also claimed that the Gibraltarian business community had been very “receptive” to the plan, which would allow an open border and resolve ongoing disputes over air space access, phone access, and “all the things which are bedeviling them at the moment”.But his suggestion got little support on the Rock on Tuesday.“I don’t believe it could resolve any of the issues on either side,” said Robert Vazquez, 61, a Gibraltarian barrister and political blogger. “The joint sovereignty plan confuses the ability to have a practical solution for what is in reality an emotional and a nationalistic issue.“Nor would it satisfy Spain which is looking for nothing less than revindiction of sovereignty. It is also very difficult to imagine a situation in which Britain would offload one of its territories, considering how many lives were lost in defending the Falklands.”Mr Hain’s claim that Gibraltar’s business community was keen on the idea was also queried by Edward Macquisten, chief executive of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce.“It is safe to say there is not much appetite for revisiting the plan,” Mr Macquisten said.“We have all the airline access we need already, and we already have a very successful economy based on financial services, the port and tourism.”

Remember they are trying to forge an Alliance with teh Argentinians to take us to the United Nations too .

BUT Tony Blair tried to Give it Away ..

This is a non political statement as I believe all politicians are Ass Holes , it is just Tont was a bigger one than most ( Tony NOT Blair the other one , feel free to remove my comment on Mr Blair if you think it unfit )

[john sutton]

Consider the scenario that Gibralter needs more money from the UK government and that the concrete blocks were a way of starting a situation demanding more UK support.
The concrete blocks achieved nothing environmental apart from destroying trawls and the waters they were dropped into were not absolutely Gib waters, or sheltered.They are part of the atlantic which extends through the straits to El Faro about 40 kilometres east of gib.
I think its a well known fact that if you want to cause trouble with Spain or France you upset their fishermen or farmers and they can be so powerful that their governments will rush to support them(I wish the Uk would do the same).
The people of Gib live off the financial support of the UK.Why do they need 10000 Spanish citizens to cross daily to work.Because most Gibralteans wont work.
We should think carefully.The people of Spain don't want Gib.The people of spain don't want trouble with the UK.Its all down to politicians.Gibralteans,spanish and now UK.
The major economy of Southern Spain is tourism of which Brits account for a very high percentage.
I have yet to see a poster saying Brits out of gib
john sutton

[robpage]

The Gibraltar Artificial Reef, or simply the Gibraltar Reef is the ongoing artificial reef project for the Mediterranean waters surrounding the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The initiative was started in 1973 by Dr. Eric Shaw of the Helping Hand Trust.
It consists of a collection of sunken wrecks designed to give marine wildlife an environment to breed and colonise. Initial experiments with tyres proved unsuccessful as the tyres were simply swept away by currents or buried underneath sand. In 1974, boats from local marinas and the Gibraltar Port Authority were donated. The first two were barges that were sunk in Camp Bay. In 2006, a 65 ton wooden boat, "True Joy" (also referred to as "Noah's Ark") was sunk here as well, followed by the MV New Flame, a mid sized bulk carrier, in 2007.

In 2013, after it proved extremely popular with local, Spanish and tourist divers, it was expanded further by the dropping of concrete blocks onto the seabed. This proved unpopular with Spanish fishermen who, even though it's in Gibraltar's waters, demanded the process be stopped because it would prevent then trawling the seabed for fish

It is a Tourist attraction for Divers , and why should Spanish fishermen run trawls in Gibraltarian waters , these are the guys that have destroyed and decimated fisheries around our coasts for years . Maybe we should Charge the Spanish Workers 50 Euro a day to cross , should make a nice contribution to the economy of the Rock .

Gibraltar was Ceded to us , John Please give me one reason why we should hand it back , maybe we should petition Barrack Obama for the return of the land the damn yankee Colonists robbed off us

[Captain Kong]

Peter Hain is Not the most intelligent of Politicians, come to think of it does anyone know an intelligent politician?
Did nt he get arrested and convicted of vandalism when he came over from South Africa whining and cutting up the Cricket field at Lords or some where, as some kind of protester.?
I think the best place for Hain is back in South Africa where he belongs.
Brian.